


Lady Justice

by Singofsolace



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018), Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Crossover, Domestic Violence, F/F, Special Victims Unit - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:07:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22430818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Singofsolace/pseuds/Singofsolace
Summary: Lieutenant Lilith Demos has spent the last twenty years investigating New York City’s most sensitive crimes. She is intimately familiar with the worst humanity has to offer, but getting justice for rape victims makes everything else worthwhile. There is no case too perverse or too delicate for her to handle; she always remains coolly professional, no matter the situation. But that all changes the day Zelda Spellman walks into her squad room. Bringing Zelda's abuser to justice proves to be her most difficult case yet, and it doesn't help that Zelda is extremely uncooperative when it comes to the investigation.The CAOS and Law & Order: SVU Crossover that no one asked for, written for the Madam Spellman 2020 Challenge Prompt: AU
Relationships: Faustus Blackwood/Zelda Spellman, Zelda Spellman/Lilith, Zelda Spellman/Mary Wardwell | Madam Satan | Lilith
Comments: 226
Kudos: 262
Collections: Madam Spellman 2020 Challenge





	1. Sleepless on a Sunday

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think. I've been contemplating this AU for a while. I'd appreciate any feedback you have to offer!
> 
> Many thanks to @faerthingale for designing the cover art!

Lilith was exhausted. Though she was incredibly passionate about her work, and had always been willing to sacrifice sleep in favor of helping rape survivors get justice, she had to admit that after spending forty-nine straight hours awake and on her feet, she was starting to get a little snippy. She had nearly torn Sergeant Scratch’s head off when he stopped by her office to get her to sign off on a tedious but necessary report.

It was three in the morning on a Sunday, and clearly it was high time she went home. The SVU could surely do without its acting commander while she ate a decent meal and stole a few hours of sleep.

Lilith had just said good night to her detectives and was halfway to the elevator when the doors opened to reveal the most gorgeous woman she had ever seen. The woman had luscious red hair that fell in waves of curls about her shoulders and wore a long, black coat that was cinched at the waist to accentuate her shapely figure. A leopard-print scarf was wrapped around her neck, and she sported a pair of dark sunglasses, which immediately struck Lilith as odd, considering the late hour.

“May I help you?” said Lilith as the mysterious woman took a hesitant step out of the elevator.

The woman froze in her tracks, as if she hadn’t expected to be addressed. “I—I’m not sure.”

Lilith watched as the woman lifted a shaking hand to fiddle with her scarf.

“Are you here to report a crime?” said Lilith, indicating that the woman should follow her. It would seem Lilith would not be grabbing some sleep any time soon after all.

“No. I mean—I don’t know. I’m sorry. This was a mistake,” said the woman before turning on her heel and immediately hitting the button to call the elevator back.

“This is the Special Victims Unit. I’m the commanding officer, Lieutenant Demos—but you can just call me ‘Lilith,” she said as she came to stand beside the woman. “Would you like to go to my office so that we can talk privately?”

The elevator arrived, announcing its return with a loud “ding” that made the woman beside her flinch. Lilith furrowed her brow, wondering why the sound had spooked her.

“Thank you, Lieutenant, but it’s late and I... I really ought to be getting home,” the woman said in a rush as she stepped back into the elevator. Lilith followed her, feeling curiously drawn towards this stranger. There was an aura around the woman, one that seemed to be calling out for Lilith to come closer, even as she was being pushed away.

“I was just heading home myself,” Lilith mused as she reached passed the red head to press the button for the ground floor. The woman jumped back and away, as if to avoid Lilith invading her space.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” said Lilith, concern creeping into her tone. “Are you alright, Miss…?”

The woman kept backing away until she stood flat against the wall. “I’m fine. Really. I should never have come.”

“So you’ve said,” Lilith nodded, wracking her brain for a way to get the skittish woman to trust her. “But would you at least tell me your name?”

“I…” the woman began, but her mouth slammed shut when the elevator doors opened once again.

Lilith stepped out of the elevator, holding her arm out behind her to keep the doors from closing when she realized the stranger had yet to move from her position against the wall.

“Ma’am?” said Lilith, now certain that she couldn’t just let this woman leave the precinct when she was clearly in some kind of distress.

Slowly, as if she thought Lilith might attack her at any moment, the woman eased herself away from the wall and took the few steps necessary to get out of the elevator. Her movements were slow and methodical, leading Lilith to wonder if she were injured. She also desperately wished the stranger would remove her sunglasses so that she could see her eyes.

The lobby was mostly empty, save for a few uniforms on night duty. They nodded to her as she walked passed them, though she could feel their eyes lingering on the woman beside her.

“Seeing as it’s very late at night—or rather, early in the morning—would you consider letting me drive you home?” said Lilith as they reached the exit. She knew there was something wrong, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that if she let the woman out of her sight, something terrible would befall her.

“I suppose—that would be... alright,” the woman said, haltingly, as if she were struggling for breath. Lilith directed her to the car, worried by how slowly she was moving.

“Are you sure you’re alright? Do you need a doctor?” Lilith said as the woman struggled to open the car door.

“No—no. It’s just—rather late, and I’m tired,” the woman insisted as she finally wrenched the door open and sat gingerly in the passenger seat.

Lilith spared her a brief look before turning the key in the ignition. “So, where is home?”

“What?” said the woman, finally taking off her sunglasses in the darkness of the car. Lilith tried to catch a glimpse of her eyes, but the woman had turned to look out the window.

“Where should I drop you off?” said Lilith, more curious than ever as to how and why her companion had shown up on SVU’s doorstep.

The silence stretched and stretched between them as the car engine purred. Lilith checked her watch and discovered that it was nearing 4 o’clock. Dawn would be breaking sooner rather than later, taking her opportunity to sleep with it.

“I’m sorry—it's just... I don’t know where to go,” said the woman in a voice barely above a whisper.

Finally, Lilith could sense some progress happening. “Okay. Don’t panic. Why don’t I bring you to a women’s shelter for the night? And later, once you’ve had some time to rest, I can come back and take your statement.”

“My statement?” the woman said, finally meeting her eyes. It was hard to see them in the darkness, but Lilith could just make out two light green eyes, wide with fear. There was also a shadow around the left eye, which Lilith assumed must be the reason she had hid behind her glasses.

“If you’ll forgive my bluntness, Ma’am… no one comes to a police station in the wee hours of the morning unless they have a good reason, and they _especially_ don’t seek out the Special Victims Unit if it isn’t completely necessary.”

“I told you—it was a mistake. I have no intention of making a report,” the woman insisted as she looked away. “Please—take me to 333 West 57th Street.”

“Is that where you live?”

“…yes.”

“Do you live alone?” said Lilith, still making no move to exit the parking lot.

“Why do you ask?” the woman said as she clutched her scarf.

“If you aren’t safe there, I can’t take you back.”

“It’s perfectly safe. It’s where my sister, niece, and nephew reside.” The woman's tone turned haughty, clearly displeased at the implication that she would be in danger.

“Alright,” Lilith said, nodding as she stepped on the gas. “I’ll drive you there. But will you please tell me your name?”

“Zelda,” she responded, after a time.

“Zelda,” Lilith repeated. “That’s a beautiful name. Like that Duchess—or whatever her title is. I was surprised when they moved to the States, what with them being royalty and all. Lady Blackwood, I think?”

“Yes. Like her,” said Zelda, her voice empty of all emotion.

That was when it clicked—and Lilith could’ve kicked herself for not realizing it sooner. “Shit. Shit, shit, shit. I’m sorry, Lady Blackwood.”

“I’m not Lady Blackwood,” Zelda said, her voice cracking slightly.

“Okay, okay,” said Lilith in a tone she hoped conveyed how sincerely she meant no offense. “Zelda. Just 'Zelda'... can you tell me what happened tonight?”

“Nothing happened.”

“Then why did you come to SVU?”

Silence fell once again. As Lilith drove through the streets of midtown Manhattan, she entertained the thought that Lord Blackwood’s character might not be as spotless and beyond reproach as the monarchy led everyone to believe.

Eventually, they came to a stop on West 57th street. Zelda, who had been slowly drifting off to sleep in her exhaustion, stirred when Lilith cut the engine.

“Is this the right address?”

“Yes, thank you,” said Zelda, fumbling with the clasp of her seatbelt.

“Here, let me,” said Lilith, reaching over to help.

“I’m perfectly capable,” Zelda snapped, and indeed, she managed to free herself, though Lilith noticed that she had to switch hands to do it.

“Here,” said Lilith, reaching into her pocket. “Take my card. Call me if you need anything. I’ll be sure to check in later, after we’ve both gotten some sleep.”

“You can’t,” said Zelda, refusing to take the card. “How will I explain an SVU detective knocking on our door to my family?”

“You don’t have to tell them I’m a detective. You could pretend we’re…friends,” Lilith offered, though by the look on Zelda’s face, she wasn’t convinced.

“Please, just…forget this ever happened. I’m sure you have better things to do than baby sit me,” said Zelda as she opened the car door. Lilith followed suit, coming around the front of the car to meet her on the sidewalk. Zelda had her back to her, already heading towards the apartment building.

“Zelda, it’s my _job_ to check up on these things. You can’t actually expect me to forget about it?” said Lilith, reaching out a hand to touch the back of Zelda’s shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting gesture, but she immediately regretted it when the woman yelped like a wounded dog.

“Don’t touch me,” said Zelda through gritted teeth as she whirled around. “Just leave me be!”

“I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to hurt you,” insisted Lilith, following Zelda to the door. “But if you’re injured, you need to let me take you to the hospital.”

“I’m not going to the hospital,” Zelda snarled. “Good _night,_ Lieutenant.”

With that, Zelda entered the building, leaving Lilith standing out in the cold night, staring at the place where her back used to be, and replaying the sound of pain Zelda had made when she touched her over and over again in her head.

One thing was abundantly clear: Lilith was taking this case, whether Zelda Spellman-Blackwood wanted her to or not.


	2. The Sister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilith arrives at Hilda Spellman's apartment, not knowing what to expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think of this chapter, as well as this AU in general! <3

Lilith couldn’t sleep, despite going home _specifically_ to get some quality time with her own bed. She couldn’t help but think that she should have insisted Lady Blackwood go to the hospital immediately. It was her job, after all, to preserve evidence as soon as possible, in order to bring abusers swiftly and efficiently to justice. If Zelda so much as brushed her teeth, important evidence could be lost. But it wasn’t the ticking time clock on the physical evidence that was keeping Lilith awake, and neither was it Zelda’s clear pain upon being touched, nor her inability to unlock a seatbelt with her left hand, nor was it even the shadow around her eye, that had Lilith’s mind refusing to succumb to sleep. The woman had almost _immediately_ recanted—before she had even made a statement, she’d insisted the whole thing must be forgotten—and _that_ was what truly worried Lilith.

She had seen the scourge of humanity—pedophiles, serial rapists, and wifebeaters alike—but even after all of her years at the Manhattan Special Victim’s Unit, she still knew that there was no woman in greater danger than the one who thought that she was overreacting to a domestic violence situation. What made matters even more complicated was that there were international implications of the Duchess of Gehenna showing up on the Special Victim’s Unit doorstep, beaten and abused such that she could not withstand the lightest touch to her shoulder, and Lilith was likely going to be expected to act as though the reputation of the monarchy was more important than the safety of its newest member.

Lilith stared at the clock on her nightstand as minutes gave way to hours. She might have dozed off sometime between 6:17 and 6:52 a.m., as Lilith couldn’t remember those specific numbers passing her by, but she hardly suspected a half-hour nap would put a dent in her overall sleep deprivation.

As she waited for her coffee to finish percolating, Lilith googled Lord and Lady Blackwood. Articles and pictures of the royal wedding were of course the first to appear. Zelda looked happy enough, hanging off of her husband’s arm in a wedding gown that surely cost the citizens of the UK more money than Lilith cared to speculate. This was Lord Blackwood’s second marriage, as his first wife had died in childbirth less than a year before the date of the wedding was set.

Lilith remembered that the Duke had been criticized for failing to observe the proper mourning period for his late wife before moving on to a new one, but if there was one thing for which the Duke was famous, it was the fact that he felt himself above the rules that governed other people. That was why he had moved to the United States and forsaken his royal duties; he felt no connection to his role as a leader of the people. There had been chatter in the news, however, that the real reason the Duke had moved was because he believed in the divinity of kings—and by extension, his _own_ divinity. There were rumors that he was trying to build his own church, with himself at the center, which more closely resembled a cult than anything else, in Lilith’s opinion.

Taking a large sip of her coffee, Lilith’s eyes were drawn to an older picture of the late Constance Blackwood, heavily pregnant and sporting dark sunglasses as she walked down Fifth Avenue. Lilith wondered what stories Constance would have to tell her, if she hadn’t died giving birth to a prince and princess.

Putting down her phone to finish her coffee, Lilith made a promise to herself: whether Lady Blackwood wanted it or not, she was receiving a visit from the commanding officer of SVU, and a report would _absolutely_ be filed, if Lilith had any say in the matter. She didn’t care about the pedigree of the perp—she would take Lord Blackwood down in a heartbeat if it meant that Zelda would never flinch from the sound of an elevator arriving ever again.

But it wasn’t until Lilith stood in the lobby of 333 West 57th Street that she began to fully understand the implications of her being there. She’d been required to flash her shield in order to explain her presence in the luxurious apartment building, and the kindly-looking man behind the desk had shown far too much interest when she inquired as to which apartment housed the Spellman sisters.

“Suite 636,” said the man, after a long pause. “But I should warn you, they aren’t the kind to open the door to a stranger.”

“Not even to a police officer?” said Lilith, not bothering to hide her confusion.

“I could walk you up, if you like?" asked the man, fiddling with his tie. “I’m a friend of Hilda’s—I mean—the Duchess’ sister.”

Lilith weighed the pros and cons of involving someone else in what was likely to be an unpleasant situation. “I think I’ll take my chances, thank you.”

Lilith was halfway to the elevator when she was stopped by a hitch in the man’s voice.

“Y-You ought to know, they had an… early-morning visitor. Lady Blackwood might not be there.”

Turning on her heel, Lilith returned to the desk with barely-concealed rage, and a touch of panic. “What do you mean, she _might_ not? Aren’t you in charge of security in this building? How could you possibly _not_ know if the goddamn _Duchess_ has left since I dropped her off four hours ago?”

The man looked around the vacant lobby, as if worried the walls had ears. “You didn’t hear this from me, but Lord Blackwood arrived at a quarter to seven, and the Blackwoods have been known to leave out the back staircase to avoid the paparazzi.”

Lilith’s heart began to race. “So, you’re saying they could be long gone? And the fact that Lady Blackwood arrived at four in the morning, clearly distraught and without her husband, didn’t alert you to the fact that she might not want you to give him free access to her _sister’s_ building?”

“He’s the Duke,” sputtered the man. “H-He’s _family_ —he has a key.”

Not wanting to waste another second, Lilith launched herself towards the elevator, thinking she should have damn well followed her instincts when she had the chance. Who knew what state Zelda would be in after she failed to return to her husband’s mansion on Millionaire’s Row, and instead sought out safety with her sister?

While she was in the elevator, Lilith debated taking out her weapon. She didn’t want to make a scene, but she also didn’t want to be caught flat-footed if the situation warranted immediate intervention.

Everything was eerily quiet as Lilith made her way to Suite 636. When she knocked on the door, she received no response. “Miss Spellman? Lady Blackwood? This is the police. Open up.”

Lilith could hear movement behind the door, but no voices.

“Miss Spellman? This is Lieutenant Demos of the Manhattan Special Victim’s Unit. Please, it’s urgent that I speak with your sister.”

Lilith briefly debated fabricating some probable cause, so that she might kick the door in, but eventually she heard the turn of several locks and the rattle of a chain before the door opened to reveal a girl who couldn’t be more than sixteen.

“Is your auntie home, young lady?” said Lilith, showing her badge to the teenager as she attempted to step inside the apartment.

“I don’t know you,” said the girl, trying to close the door again. “You said you were police, but you don’t look like a police officer.”

Lilith put her hand on the door to keep it from being closed in her face. “I assure you, I am a high-ranking NYPD detective, which is why I’m not wearing a uniform. Now, are your aunties home?”

“Aunt Hilda’s in the kitchen making breakfast,” nodded Sabrina.

“Who’s there, cousin?” said a voice with a refined British accent as a young man came into Lilith’s view from behind the door.

“She says she’s a policewoman, but she doesn’t look like one,” said Sabrina.

“I’ve just explained that I’m a detective. Here’s my badge,” said Lilith, flashing it in the young man’s direction. “Now, it is _urgent_ that I speak with your aunt as soon as possible.”

“Aunt Hilda?” shouted Sabrina over her shoulder. “There’s a lady at the door, says she needs to speak to you.”

“Then let her in, love,” came a woman’s voice with a thick London accent.

Lilith sighed in relief as the teenager finally stepped aside and let her through the door. The apartment was fancy, if small, for a family who had married into royalty.

The woman Lilith assumed to be Hilda Spellman came around the corner, wiping her hands on her apron as she did. “Now what’s this about an urgent matter, Miss…?”

“Lieutenant,” said Lilith as she stuck her hand out for a handshake. “Lieutenant Lilith Demos, Manhattan SVU.”

“Oh, a Lady Detective, are you? I’ve always wanted to meet one of those,” said Hilda cheerfully as she shook Lilith’s hand. “Now what does a lady detective want with us Spellmans?”

“Would we be able to speak in private?” said Lilith, eyeing the two younger Spellmans who were showing far too much interest in their conversation.

“Sabrina, Ambrose—go get ready for the Academy, loves,” said Hilda, waving a hand in the direction of what Lilith assumed to be the children’s bedrooms.

Hilda’s order was met with groans and dragging feet, but eventually they were alone, as requested. Hilda guided Lilith into a quaint sitting room, which seemed to have been plucked right out of an English country cottage.

“This isn’t about my sister stumbling home at four a.m., is it?” said Hilda as she took a seat in an overstuffed armchair and resumed her knitting, which was laid out on the table next to her.

“It is,” nodded Lilith, curious that Hilda seemed unbothered by having a detective in her sitting room.

“What’s she done now? I’ve told her she needs to cut back on the whiskey, if not for her own health, then for the sake of others. Last time she showed up in the wee hours of the morning, she’d gotten into a bar fight on Madison Avenue—can you believe it?!”

Lilith didn’t believe it for a second, but she didn’t think it was her place to inform Hilda that it was more likely her sister had gotten into a fight with her husband than it was for her to have been roughed up in a bar fight. “Where is your sister now?”

“Oh, Faustus came by to collect her not too long ago.”

Lilith’s fingers dug into her eyes, trying to rub the fatigue and frustration out of them. “Did she say anything to you—anything at all—that would make it seem like she didn’t want to leave with him?”

“She and Faustus have always had a… passionate relationship. One day they’re at each other’s throats, the next they’ve kissed and made up. They’ve been like that since they were children. They went to the same Academy, you know? And then on to Oxford together,” said Hilda, looking up over her glasses as she continued to knit. “I never pay attention to their lover's spats.”

A shiver went down Lilith’s spine at the idea that Faustus Blackwood might have been hurting Zelda for years, all under the guise of “passion.”

“Miss Spellman, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but I don’t see a scenario where I can conduct my investigation without your help. Your sister came to the Special Victims Unit last night. I believe she intended to make a report. It is _very important_ that you call me the next time she comes here instead of going to her home on Fifth Avenue, do you understand?” Lilith asked as she extended her card.

Hilda hesitated, looking between the card and Lilith, as if she only just understood what “SVU” meant. “Are you saying my sister was raped?”

“I’m not prepared to comment on your sister’s reasons for coming to the station, but I do know that I will need your cooperation if I am going to get justice for her. Do you understand?”

“Yes, of course,” said Hilda as she took the card. “But does that mean that she _didn’t_ sprain her wrist at the Plaza? She told me she had too much to drink at the hotel bar and fell down the stairs. I didn’t think to question it—she’s done it before.”

Lilith’s stomach twisted at Zelda’s cover story. “I have no reason to believe your sister was drunk last night. I would’ve given her a breathalyzer test if I thought she was publicly intoxicated.”

It seemed to take a while for Hilda to let those words sink in. Eventually, she looked up from the name and number on Lilith’s business card. Her eyes were ablaze with anger. “Are you telling me that Faustus gave her all those bruises? I swear, I thought she had rolled down the stairs. She told me the police might follow up, because they’d given her a ride home.”

“That much is true,” nodded Lilith. “I drove her home last night. But I didn’t drive her home from The Plaza. I drove her home from my police station, which is all the way downtown. She wouldn’t have wound up there by accident. So, you can understand why I’m taking this very seriously?”

“Of course,” breathed Hilda, throwing her knitting back down onto the table beside her chair. “That son of a bitch!”

Lilith was about to comment, to say that it was important for Hilda to remain calm and rational during the investigation, but the first syllable was hardly out of her mouth when she realized that the teenage girl had returned, wearing her school uniform, with her cousin not far behind her.

“Who’s a son of a bitch?” said Sabrina looking between Hilda and Lilith in confusion.

“Did Auntie Zee get in a fight at The Plaza again? Is the man pressing charges?” asked Ambrose, crossing his arms. “If he is, he’s only in it for the money—he hurt her way worse than she could possibly have hurt him. Even if she were drunk, she couldn’t do the sort of damage to him that he did to her.”

“Ambrose, why didn’t you go back to sleep when I told you to, love?” Hilda murmured as she must’ve realized he had witnessed her tending to his aunt’s injuries that morning.

“I was going to head to The Plaza right after the Academy and give whoever it was a piece of my mind. I knew she didn’t fall down the stairs—it looked like someone had wailed on her. It would be a lot easier if I had a name. ‘That son of a bitch’ doesn’t really narrow it down when we’re talking about The Plaza,” said Ambrose, adjusting the strap of his backpack as he gave Lilith an expectant look.

“It would be better if you left the investigating up to the detectives. We’re trained for this sort of thing—you’re not.”

“I don’t need to be trained to teach some low-life never to touch my auntie again,” growled Ambrose.

“Yeah,” agreed Sabrina, crossing her arms.

“That’s sweet, loves,” said Hilda, standing up to place a hand on each of their shoulders. “But you have to let the police handle it.”

“Why should we?” asked Ambrose, shaking Hilda’s hand off his shoulder. “They’ve never been interested in helping her before.”

Lilith stood and walked to Ambrose, handing him one of her cards as she asked, “How often does your aunt… get into fights?”

Ambrose was about to answer when Sabrina interrupted him. “Since she came back from her honeymoon, she’s been drinking a lot. But she doesn’t always get into fights when she drinks. That only happens on the weekends.”

“Does she come here every weekend, saying she got in a bar fight?” asked Lilith as this new information turned over in her mind. There might be a pattern to the abuse, if only she could discover it.

“Not every weekend,” Sabrina shrugged. “She only comes here when she doesn’t want Uncle Faustus to know she got all banged up. But he always finds out anyway and drags her home.”

“Is that what he did this morning?” said Lilith, switching her focus to Hilda. “Did he drag her out?”

“I wouldn’t call it ‘dragging,’” said Hilda diplomatically. “When he told her it was time for her to come home, she went quietly enough.”

“Yeah, not like the first time,” added Sabrina.

“What happened the first time?” said Lilith urgently, taking out her notebook to jot things down so she could remember them later.

“She was throwing things and screaming at him to go to hell,” said Ambrose. “Said she’d kill him if he touched her. But the next day we all had brunch together in Rockefeller Center and they seemed perfectly fine. Better than fine. Happy, even—”

“I think we’ve said quite enough about that,” interrupted Hilda, ushering Ambrose and Sabrina to the door. “You’ll be late to the Academy if you don’t get going.”

“You’ll find the person who hurt her, won’t you?” said Sabrina, digging her feet in as Hilda tried to usher her out. “You’ll make them pay?”

Lilith looked from one young, expectant face to the other before saying, “I will certainly try.”

Reassured, the children went on their way. Lilith turned back to Hilda, curious as to why she didn’t want her nephew talking about their brunch. “I hope you know that I’m not judging you or your family. My only objective is to make sure Lady Blackwood is alright, and if she’s not, I plan to help her until she is.”

“She won’t like that,” said Hilda, shaking her head. “My sister is as stubborn as they come. She hardly lets _me_ help her, and we’re as close as can be. She won’t like you poking into her business, and she will never say a bad word about Faustus if she thinks it will reflect poorly on her as his wife. As far as anyone else is concerned, they have the perfect marriage—and a perfect family—with those little ones around.”

“Little ones?” asked Lilith, though even as she said it, she remembered Faustus’ former wife and how she had died. “You mean, the twins?”

“Yes, the little angels,” said Hilda, smiling. “Zelda dotes on them. You have to understand—she’s a wonderful mother. Whatever is or isn’t going on with her and Faustus—I want you to know that those children are the most loved in all the world, and no matter what happens, that will always be true.”

Lilith nodded, though she was starting to understand that this was far worse than she originally thought. If there were children in the home, CPS might need to get involved, and that was never a pretty picture. “That might very well be the case, but have you ever seen bruises on the children?”

“What?!” said Hilda, her eyes going wide. “She’d never hurt the babies. She loves them like her own. Zelda would sooner put a gun to her own head before she’d hurt a child.”

“I didn’t say _she_ would,” insisted Lilith, reaching out to place a calming hand on Hilda’s shoulder. “That wasn’t the question. The question was: have you ever seen bruises on the children? Even ones that were easily explained away? Have _they_ had any ‘accidents’ or falls?”

“ _No_ ,” Hilda insisted, shaking Lilith’s hand off. “And if you so much as _mention_ the idea of those children being hurt to Zelda, you can forget about her cooperation. She’ll fight you at every turn if she thinks her children might be taken away if she talks to you.”

“She has no reason to fear the children being taken away from her, if she’s solely a victim in this situation. But you have to consider what’s best for the infants—”

“What’s best for them,” Hilda spoke over her, “is keeping them in the care of the only mother they’ve ever known.”

“Even if their mother is suffering?” said Lilith gently. “Listen to me, Miss Spellman. My mother was raped nine months before I was born. She was reminded every day, whenever she looked at me, that she had been hurt in the worst possible way, and I was the living proof. I loved my mother very much, but she should never have kept me if it meant drinking herself to death. She was never able to truly love me, no matter how hard she tried, and that is no life for a child.”

“Zelda isn’t like your mother,” said Hilda. “I’m sorry that you were raised that way. But Zelda has never let her own demons come anywhere _near_ those children. I swear to you.”

“I’ve also been in her shoes,” continued Lilith, not wanting to lose her opportunity to gain Hilda’s trust. “I was in an abusive relationship for many years before I became an SVU detective. I know what she’s going through. If you have any sway at all with her, please, let her know I come in peace.”

“Zelda doesn’t listen to me,” said Hilda, with a small sniff. “If things are as bad as you seem to think, I’d be the last person she’d tell. _Clearly_. I’ve been patching her up for months and I’ve believed every lie she’s told me.”

“Survivors are usually very good at telling lies,” Lilith nodded, “and even better at believing them. Thank you for your time, Miss Spellman. You have my card. Please call if you think of anything that might help me in my investigation.”

“I will,” said Hilda as Lilith strode out the door.

“Oh, and tell your boyfriend—or whatever he is—that he needs to change the locks to your apartment. Blackwood isn’t to enter this building, understood?”

Hilda nodded.

“Good.”

With that, Lilith was on her way. Her next stop would be Millionaire Row—on the upper east side. Making a quick call to her precinct, she informed them that two of her best detectives ought to meet her at the Blackwood mansion as backup. She didn’t know what she’d find there, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to be caught unprepared for a fight.


	3. The Nursery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilith accesses the Blackwood mansion through highly illegal duplicity in order to speak with Zelda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this instead of working on my MFA thesis. Please share your thoughts and comments on this chapter so that if my thesis advisor kills me tomorrow, at least it might be somewhat worth it.

Despite having lived in Manhattan all of her life, Lilith had never spent much time on the Upper East Side. She was perfectly content living Downtown, in a small but cozy fifth-floor walkup, five minutes away from her precinct. She never wondered how the other half lived, and had certainly never dreamed of joining high society one day.

But as she entered the gate of a mansion that dated back to the Gilded Age, she couldn’t help but be in awe of the spectacle—the sheer display of wealth for wealth’s sake. Her back-up detectives were waiting in a car around the block; she’d told them that they weren’t to assist her unless she radioed for help. She’d insisted it was a delicate matter, best left to the acting commander of SVU, but one never knew how quickly a domestic could go wrong, hence the reinforcements.

At first, she tried to sweet-talk her way inside the door, but sweet-talking was one thing Lilith had never been very good at. Then she tried a series of lies about her relationship to Zelda, insisting the Duchess was expecting her. But the butler was having none of it—he even suggested he might call the police, at which point Lilith was forced to admit she _was_ the police. Once that had been revealed, she tried strong-arming her way inside, using her badge as a shield, and even went so far as to claim that interfering in an active police investigation was not covered under the umbrella of diplomatic immunity. The butler took umbrage at the suggestion that he could be arrested for obstruction, and finally let her in.

Lilith highly doubted this was true—and knew it was highly illegal to lie in order to gain access to a private residence—but something told her that time was of the essence, and she couldn’t very well wait for the district attorney to find a judge willing to issue a warrant for a _royal estate._

The second person she had spoken to had begrudgingly directed her to wait in the parlor in the west wing, but Lilith wasn’t having that; she insisted that she see the lady of the house _at once_. When she was then told by yet another person that Lady Blackwood was tired and would not be receiving any visitors today—even the Queen herself would be turned away—Lilith declared that she would arrest every single member of the staff for obstruction of justice if they didn’t cooperate.

It was once again a highly illegal empty threat, but it did the trick.

Lilith was finally directed to a room with the assurance that Lady Blackwood would be inside. She was surprised to enter what looked like a nursery. There were children’s toys scattered across the floor, and two identical cradles sitting side-by-side. Lilith reeled back when she realized one of the cradles was occupied by a sleeping infant. But where was the Duchess…?

“You do realize you're actively impeding my investigation by leading me on a wild goose chase?” Lilith whispered harshly, rounding on the young woman who had opened the door. She didn’t look like the rest of the staff—in fact, Lilith realized much too late that the girl clearly wasn’t a member of the staff at all.

“My stepmother is just through that door,” said the young woman, pointing to the Japanese shoji doors at the far end of the room. “But you ought to wait. She’s only just gotten Leticia to feed.”

Lilith had already stalked to the sliding door and had one hand poised to open it when she stopped in her tracks.

“Your… stepmother?”

“Yes.”

Lilith’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t know Blackwood had…”

“A bastard?” said the girl, her low, refined voice devoid of emotion.

Lilith’s mouth opened and closed like a fish before she found her words again. “I was going to say, 'I didn’t know he had a third child.'”

“There’s a great deal people don’t know about my father,” said the girl darkly as she moved to tidy up the toys.

Lilith was about to respond, suddenly worried that more than just Zelda’s health and safety was at risk in this house, when the sound of the door sliding open behind her interrupted their conversation. Zelda had finally appeared, but all of her attention was focused not on the detective, but rather on the baby in her arms. She held a bottle of formula in her left hand, though Lilith could see her fingers trembling where they were wrapped around the bottle.

“Prudence? Would you take over? I’m sorry, but I can’t quite—” Zelda jumped back in alarm as she spotted Lilith, the bottle slipping out of her hand and crashing to the ground in the process.

Lilith immediately stooped to pick the bottle up. She felt an intense rush of guilt for having scared the woman so badly.

“I’m sorry, Lady Blackwood. Here,” she said, offering the bottle back, but Zelda was now clutching the babe tightly to her chest with both hands, as if afraid Lilith would try to take the child away from her.

“What are you doing here? How _dare_ you—?” Zelda sputtered, backing away.

“Please, Zelda, there’s no need to panic—” said Lilith in her most soothing voice, holding the bottle out as if it were an olive branch.

“How did you get in? You can’t just barge in here without a warrant. It’s illegal!” said Zelda, holding the baby tighter as Leticia began to cry.

“They let her in because she said we were ‘obstructing justice,’” Prudence said, tearing the bottle out of Lilith’s hand with incredible force.

The baby cried and cried, even as Zelda bounced her up and down. Soon, a second baby’s cries joined the cacophony, the boy clearly having awoken from his nap.

“I’ll have your badge for this, Lieutenant,” threatened Zelda as she passed the baby girl to her stepdaughter, who resumed trying to feed the child, despite her continued crying. “Do you realize what you’ve done by coming here?”

“I went to your sister’s apartment first,” said Lilith, raising her voice above the sound of the babies’ shrieking. “May we speak someplace quieter? In private?”

“The children wouldn’t be crying if it weren’t for your—your—” Zelda threw her hands up in the air in frustration, at a loss for words. Lilith’s eyes were drawn to the woman’s left wrist, which was wrapped in athletic tape—no doubt Hilda’s work. She really needed to get Zelda to the hospital before she caused herself any further injury.

“Yes, and I _am_ sorry for that,” Lilith nodded, beckoning for Zelda to follow her out of the room. “But you can’t just expect me to drop the whole thing.”

“That is _exactly_ what I expect you to do,” said Zelda, following her out of the nursery if only so Prudence would not be privy to their discussion. “Follow me. We can talk in the library—though I’d much rather you just leave.”

“I’m not leaving,” said Lilith as they walked down several serpentine hallways. “Your sister told me you got into a bar fight.”

“Will you please _hold your tongue_ until we are in private?” hissed Zelda, briefly pausing to ensure no one was around to overhear.

Lilith had never felt more like a bull in a china shop. They spent the rest of the journey to the library in strained silence. It wasn’t until they were both seated on ornate armchairs, and the staff had been dismissed from the room, that Zelda spoke again.

“I’ve told you that going to the police was a mistake. Why can’t you accept that and leave me be?”

Lilith sidestepped the question with practiced ease. “Why have you led your family to believe that you’re a violent drunk who gets into bar fights every weekend?”

“That is none of your concern,” said Zelda, sweeping a thick lock of red hair over her shoulder.

“It _is_ my concern. You’re lying about how you sustained those injuries and that is very concerning to me,” said Lilith, nodding towards Zelda’s wrist.

“You can’t prove that I’m lying,” said Zelda, her voice sounding more and more tired as their conversation continued. “I’ve been banned from The Plaza hotel bar. I got into a brawl on Thanksgiving over the Saints vs. Falcons football game. My husband made the police report disappear, so you won’t find any official record of it, but the entire Plaza staff has been informed that I’m no longer welcome there, so you can ask a bloody _busboy_ if you’re so keen to hear the details.”

Lilith let that information wash over her. It sounded to her like Zelda had purposefully gone out that night to create a cover story, for the express purpose of being able to explain away any future injuries.

“But you weren’t drinking last night. My mother was an alcoholic; I can spot that sort of thing from a mile away. So, while you might not have been lying the first time you got into a fight, I know for a fact you’re lying now.”

Zelda shifted in her seat, as if the position was causing her pain. “With the snap of my fingers I can have eye witnesses in front of you to share a detailed account of my activities last night. Shall I fetch them?”

Lilith shook her head. “I don’t care who your husband has on his payroll to cover things up. If he can make police reports disappear, he can certainly buy an alibi. What I don’t understand is why you’re protecting him with these lies?”

Zelda pinched the bridge of her nose, as if to keep a headache at bay. “What _I_ don’t understand is how you can possibly think this is going to go anywhere—or do any good.”

“My job is to put abusers in prison. I will do what needs to be done to see you get justice.”

“Justice?” Zelda scoffed. “There is no such thing as justice. We all make our own beds. I’ve made mine. Now all I have to do is lie in it.”

The image those words put in Lilith’s head nearly had her throwing up her coffee. “But you don’t have to share _his_ bed, just because he demands it. It’s against the law, even within the bond of marriage. He can’t force you.”

“He can,” said Zelda, her eyes cold. “I married Faustus knowing full well what marriage to such a man would mean. I went into this with my eyes wide open. I am not some damsel in distress for you to rescue from her tower. I am a grown woman who chose to marry a man I knew was mercurial and violent. I am not a victim here. I am the master of my own fate. I _chose_ this.”

Zelda punctuated her words by standing up. Lilith followed suit, aware that she had clearly overstayed her welcome, and she wouldn’t be getting any further with Zelda today.

“If you change your mind—”

“I won’t—” Zelda began, but her words were interrupted by a shout echoing down the hall from the other side of the door.

 _“Where the_ hell _is my wife?!”_


	4. Bearing Witness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilith bears witness to a truly disturbing argument between the Blackwoods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Singofsolace can share a little fanfiction, as a treat, after working so diligently on her thesis (finally). Please let me know what you think of this chapter.
> 
> Content Warning: domestic violence/rape is vividly discussed and addressed in this chapter

“Quick,” Zelda said, ushering Lilith behind a bookcase. Lilith couldn’t help but notice that her grip was surprisingly strong for a civilian—and an injured one at that. “Stay out of sight. No matter what Faustus does or says, you _must_ stay hidden, do you understand?”

Lilith didn’t have time to answer. There were sounds of an argument just outside the door—some poor servant was getting an earful.

_“What do you mean she’s ‘busy?’ I will see my wife whenever I please. Get out of my way.”_

Zelda reached beside Lilith’s head to snatch an old book from the shelf, taking in a sharp breath as the motion seemed to pain her.

“Do not move a muscle; do not make a sound,” Zelda hissed, waving the book in front of Lilith’s face in a threatening manner before she walked away, disappearing on the other side of the bookcase.

Lilith heard the door to the library bang open and held her breath.

“Why are you never where you’re meant to be?” growled Faustus Blackwood, advancing on Zelda with purpose. Lilith shifted a couple books around as quietly as she could so that she would be able to see what was happening through a small window.

“Oh?” said Zelda, refusing to let any apprehension show on her face. “And where exactly am I _meant_ to be?”

The look on Faustus’ face said he was clearly not in the mood for games. “The nursery. Caring for the children you keep insisting are yours as much as mine.”

“Prudence can handle the children. When I realized I couldn’t properly feed them with my sprained wrist, I decided to do some research for your new church instead,” said Zelda, lifting the book up to show him the cover.

Quick as a flash, Faustus snatched the book right out of Zelda’s hands. Lilith flinched at the unexpected motion, but Zelda’s face remained completely blank, as if she’d been expecting it.

“What is this garbage? _The Occult: A History_?” said Faustus, flipping through the book with a look of distaste.

“It’s not garbage. I studied it when we were at Oxford, and it’s really quite—”

Faustus paused in his perusal to turn the book back towards Zelda, holding it open to a specific, dog-eared page. Lilith could only just make out the picture of what looked like a three-headed woman. “Hecate? The triple goddess? You think I am going to base my new church on some old crone?”

“She’s the maiden, mother, crone,” corrected Zelda, trying to take the book back, but Faustus moved it out of her reach. “And it’s said that she is the most powerful of all the—”

Zelda’s words were interrupted by Faustus ripping the page that bore Hecate’s image out of the book and crumpling it with his fist. “These books are poisoning your mind. Your place is with the children.”

Faustus let the crumpled page drop out of his hand and onto the floor. When Zelda bent to pick it up, he stepped on it. Lilith’s breath caught in her chest at the sight of Faustus standing over Zelda, exercising his power in even the smallest of ways. It was an image she wouldn’t soon forget.

“As I said,” Zelda repeated, standing back up to her full height to challenge him. She held up her left arm to show him the athletic tape around her wrist. “This injury made it impossible to hold and feed the children. I can be of more use to you as a theologist right now than as a nursemaid.”

Lilith was once again shocked by the speed at which Faustus moved as he threw down the book and then grabbed Zelda by the left forearm, pulling her flush against him. Lilith’s hand went immediately to her gun, but Zelda’s words echoed in her head: _No matter what Faustus does or says, you_ must _stay hidden, do you understand?_

“You’re only wearing this to get sympathy from the servants,” said Faustus, holding tight as Zelda attempted to wrench her arm away. “I’ve bound you to the bed a hundred times before and you’ve never sprained your wrist.”

Lilith’s stomach twisted. Carefully, so as not to make any sound, she took out her phone so she could record the conversation. If Faustus was about to confess, she wanted there to be undeniable proof.

“Let go of me,” said Zelda, bringing her right hand up to push against Faustus’ chest. “I said, let go!”

“This is the root of the problem,” Faustus mused, grabbing Zelda’s right forearm as well to stop her motions. “You struggle too much. I told you to stop struggling last night, and you just carried on. Whatever injuries you sustained, you did them to yourself.”

Zelda stopped moving, apparently having accepted that she wasn’t strong enough to break free. Faustus smiled and let her go.

“See? That wasn’t so hard. All you had to do was stop struggling.”

“We can’t go on like this, Faustus. I won’t stand for it,” said Zelda, cradling her left arm. “We’re meant to be equals in this marriage.”

“Equals?” Faustus scoffed. “You married me for power, and now you have it. Are you saying you’re not willing to hold up your end of the bargain?”

Zelda’s face was flushed from the struggle. Her breathing was labored. Lilith entertained the idea of intervening, but she had no way of knowing how quickly the scene might escalate if she did.

“Power? What power? You threw all of that away when you decided to renounce your title and move to the states. I could have married an actor or an athlete or a governor, if I wanted to live in this godforsaken country and become a pretty plaything—a doll on the arm of some rich madman.”

“What’s gotten into you today?” said Faustus, his voice suspiciously controlled as he tilted his head to look at her. “Did your brainless sister try to convince you to divorce me again? You shouldn’t listen to anything that halfwit says. You can’t trust a bloody _spinster_ to know anything about marriage.”

“Don’t you dare talk about Hilda like that,” snarled Zelda, invading Faustus’ space. “Hilda is worth more than you and the whole royal family put together.”

“You’ll regret saying that,” said Faustus, a sneer spreading across his face. “It was _kind_ of me to let you go last night; you won’t be seeing any such kindness anymore. I had planned to keep you bound to my bed all night, but I couldn’t stand your bloody screaming. There’s a simple solution for that, though, isn’t there? All I need is a gag for that pretty little mouth.”

Faustus reached to touch Zelda’s lips with his fingers, but Zelda smacked his hand away. “It’s hard not to scream when your loving husband gives you thirty lashes and then takes you from behind while you bleed.”

Lilith shoved her fist in her mouth to keep from making a sound. She had suspected that Zelda had been raped, but all the rest of it? She needed to get her to the hospital immediately.

“I love it when you talk dirty,” said Faustus, amused, before his face darkened once more. “Now get the hell back to the nursery where you belong.”

With that, Faustus turned and exited the library. As soon as the door closed behind him, Lilith stopped the recording and rounded the bookcase.

“Are you alright?” said Lilith, taking in the way Zelda’s whole body trembled as she bent down to pick up her book, as well as the crumpled page that Faustus had torn out.

Zelda didn’t answer; she just smoothed out the picture of Hecate, as if she were in a trance.

“Zelda? Please, we need to leave,” said Lilith, moving closer.

“Why?” asked Zelda, her voice very far away.

Lilith knew it was probably shock, or some sort of delayed trauma response, to be so detached, but she really didn’t have time to council the woman when there was the possibility of Blackwood returning.

“We need to get you to the hospital. If he whipped you, it’s urgent that we get those wounds tended to,” Lilith said, taking the book from Zelda gently and placing it down on a nearby coffee table. She refrained from mentioning a rape kit, not wanting to lose whatever rapport they had established.

Zelda simply continued to look at the torn page, as if it held the answers to the universe. “Do you believe in divine power, Lieutenant?”

Lilith reached out to take the page from Zelda, wondering if she was bearing witness to the complete shattering of the woman’s mental state. “I think I would believe in anything if I had a good enough reason to.”

Zelda nodded, letting Lilith take the page and put it in her jacket pocket. “Well then. I suppose it’s time to go, isn’t it?”


	5. On Route to the Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilith opens up to Zelda about her own experiences.

“Stop,” said Zelda suddenly as Lilith started in the direction of the library door. Her voice still sounded strange to Lilith's ears.

“Zelda, I know you’re in a bit of a shock, but—”

“No—I just meant,” said Zelda, motioning in the opposite direction of the door. “Don’t go that way.”

Lilith didn’t immediately understand. “But we have to leave. Now.”

“I know,” Zelda nodded, turning abruptly on her heel and disappearing into the stack of books, leaving Lilith no choice but to follow. “But if we want to leave without… If we want to avoid a scene, we need to go out _this_ way.”

Zelda led Lilith to what looked a book case that seemed no different from any other. Lilith’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

Pulling on the binding of a particularly large tome, Zelda said, “This house is very old; it has all sorts of doors and passages meant for servants to move around unseen.”

Lilith’s eyes widened as the book case slid to the side, revealing a door. “Wow. That’s…something.”

Zelda motioned for Lilith to go first. It was surreal to step into a “wall,” but Lilith had had stranger things happen in her years on the force. The door connected to a short passageway, which led to a spiral staircase. Lilith started down the stairs, but only made it about ten steps before she realized Zelda was still at the top of the stairwell.

“What are you doing?” Lilith called up to her.

Zelda had one hand on the railing, and the other pressed into her chest. Her face was turned towards the door, as if she expected someone to follow them. When she spoke, it was with more strength than before.

“I just can’t leave my children behind.”

Lilith had expected the children to be an obstacle to getting Zelda out of the house, and was already thinking of ways to solve the problem. “Don’t worry about them—I have a squad car outside. I’ll have my detectives go in and collect them as soon as we get out.”

Zelda’s face snapped to look at Lilith, who was momentarily distracted by the way the woman’s hair whipped around to fall back over her shoulder. “You can’t just send your bumbling detectives in. Not without a warrant—or child services. Not to mention my husband would have you _assassinated_ before he let his heir be taken from him.”

Lilith climbed back up the stairs two at a time, so that they could see each other properly again. “Blackwood just implicated himself in domestic violence. Any judge worth their salt would have CPS here in an instant. And I don’t care if this man is the King of England—”

“He’s not—”

“If he tries to assassinate me, or any of my detectives, I’ll make sure he dies in prison—which I’m already planning to do, after what I heard in that library,” Lilith said, reaching out to take Zelda’s good hand. “Now come on.”

* * *

The ride to the hospital was excruciatingly silent. When they first got to the car, they’d fought about how to arrange for the extrication of the twins, which resulted in Zelda refusing to get into the vehicle unless Lilith promised to let Hilda be the one to take them out of the house and into her care. Lilith had begrudgingly agreed that that might be the best and most discreet course of action for the time being. Since then, Zelda hadn’t made a sound.

As they got closer to the hospital, Zelda reached into her purse. Out of the corner of her eye, Lilith watched Zelda put on her sunglasses and unwrap her scarf from her neck. Lilith nearly missed a turn because she was distracted from her driving by the chain of red, purple, and yellow bruises that decorated Zelda’s neck.

“Keep your eyes on the road,” Zelda said as she wrapped the scarf around her head, so that it hid her red curls from view. She then draped the excess fabric back around her neck—though Lilith missed this last bit, as she did indeed need to focus on her driving.

“You don’t have to hide from anyone, you know,” said Lilith as she turned into the Emergency Room parking lot. “There won’t be any reporters or anything in the hospital, and you have a police escort.”

“You really don’t understand who I am, do you?” mused Zelda as the car came to a stop. “Once word gets out that Lady Blackwood is in the ER, getting poked and prodded and humiliated on suspicion of… of…” Zelda waved a hand as if to push away the words that wouldn’t come. “…my life can never go back to the way it was.”

“Do you _want_ it to?” said Lilith, turning to look at her companion with a carefully controlled expression. “Don’t you think you deserve more than that 'necklace' you’re hiding?”

“I think I deserve everything I have in my life—the good and the bad. My sister has remained by my side, despite all I’ve put her through. I have a niece and a nephew whom I adore. I have three beautiful stepchildren. I never thought I’d be a mother—” Zelda’s voice caught in her throat, “but when my brother died—well—I got a taste of it, raising Sabrina. And now that she’s grown, and she doesn’t need me anymore, I have to feel useful. Faustus and his children have brought meaning back into my life. I don’t expect you to understand—you have a respectable career. You’re independent. I’ve only known you for a short time, but I know that you are your own woman.”

Lilith began to interrupt, but Zelda held up a hand to stop her.

“My family is my life, Lieutenant. Forgive me if I’m not eager to see it all go up in smoke.”

Lilith stared at Zelda’s somber profile, wishing she knew how to make things right. All she had was her own story, and Zelda might not want to hear it. But it was worth a try. “I wasn’t always a police officer, you know?”

The sudden change of topic seemed to break through Zelda’s carefully constructed façade of complete control. “You weren’t?”

“No. When I was in college, I fell for a charming, handsome man who treated me like I was the only woman on earth,” said Lilith, shuddering at the memory of just how good the relationship had seemed at first. “But lots of abusive men are charming. For seven years, I stayed with him, because he wasn’t always cruel—sometimes he could be unusually kind or gentle for a while, and I would think he had changed. But he hadn’t. They never do.”

After a long pause, Zelda said, “Then how did you become a police officer?”

Lilith let out a low chuckle. “I got arrested.”

“What?!”

“My ex was in a dangerous crowd. I got in over my head with some bad people.”

Zelda lifted her sunglasses, her green eyes blown wide with shock. “The NYPD doesn’t hire felons.”

“I wasn’t convicted. The judge was sympathetic to my situation. She wanted me to make a new life for myself. She understood I wasn’t the mastermind of the crime—and that it was my ex who deserved life in prison.”

“ _Life_?” Zelda said, her jaw dropping open, her mouth wide.

Lilith’s eyes were momentarily drawn to Zelda’s painted red lips. A wave of guilt rushed through her when she caught herself looking; she really had to pull it together. Now wasn’t the time to be distracted. All it took was recalling the image of Lucifer’s smirking face in the court room to remove any possibility of being preoccupied by her companion’s beauty.

“I think he deserved worse—like the electric chair. I would’ve flipped the switch myself,” said Lilith, her voice harsher than she meant it to be, considering she was supposed to be earning Zelda’s trust, not potentially pushing her away with her intensity.

“I’m sorry,” said Zelda, pulling her headscarf tighter. “That sounds truly terrible. But you must see how we’re… different?”

Lilith shook her head. “Our stories might not be the same, but I’d like to help you change the ending of yours, if you’ll let me?”

Their eyes locked. Lilith held her breath. Zelda’s lips had straightened into a thin line. Her fingers trembled as she tucked a stray lock of red hair beneath her headscarf.

Finally, Zelda nodded. Lilith sighed in relief, before reaching to open the car door. “The first step is to get those injuries seen to. Are you ready?”

“No,” Zelda said, her voice harsh in its honesty. “But I will go, nevertheless.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please drop a line to let me know what you think of this story! Your comments keep this fic alive.


	6. First Do No Harm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda is treated at the hospital. Lilith struggles with her role.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank you all for reading this. This fic is important to me, and it means the world to have such strong support in writing it. I hope this chapter isn't too much. It depicts a rape kit being performed.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't claim to be a medical professional, or an expert on rape kits. This chapter isn't intended to be instructional; it is a work of fiction. Some steps to the forensic exam might seem to be out of order or skipped entirely... it’s likely that they are. Tough decisions were made for the sake of coherency/fluidity/expediency/my sanity. I don't claim to know everything about this process. I tried to be as accurate as I could, while still erring on the side of caution/discretion.

Lilith ensured that Zelda was immediately and discreetly admitted to the hospital. She cited domestic violence as the reason for the visit, and flashed her badge no less than three times to get Zelda rushed passed the waiting room and into a sterile room in the depths of the hospital for treatment. It was at that point that Lilith turned to Zelda, who was still hiding behind her sunglasses and scarf, to inquire about her willingness to have a rape kit done.

The words were barely out of her mouth when Zelda said, “No.”

Lilith sucked in a steadying breath, not cherishing her role in all of this. “I just want you to have all the information before you make that decision. It’s difficult to prosecute a sexual assault without a rape kit. It’s not impossible; I’ve done it many times before. But Black—” Lilith paused, remembering that anonymity was important to Zelda, “I mean, your _husband_ , is going to have the best attorney money can buy. If there’s no rape kit, and he testifies that the injuries are merely a result of consensual...relations, or that they were obtained another way—it’s possible he’ll get the case thrown out before you ever have the chance to tell your story.”

Zelda didn’t immediately respond. She was looking at the nurse examiner, a kindly old woman with a curious face; one eye was slightly larger than the other, her paper-thin skin was heavily lined, and when she smiled, her teeth were crooked and yellow. Her gray hair was pulled back, in accordance with hospital code, but even so, it remained wild and untamable. The woman appeared to be in her eighties or nineties, but she had no trouble moving about the exam room, getting everything in order.

Tearing her eyes away from the peculiar nurse, Zelda said, “I don’t mean to be… indecisive. It’s just that I’m not certain I _want_ ‘to tell my story.’ What I really need are some painkillers—” Zelda rotated her shoulders in apparent discomfort, “…and possibly an antibiotic.”

The elderly woman nodded sympathetically before laying a sheet down on the floor. Though Lilith couldn’t see Zelda’s eyes behind the glasses, she could tell from the stiffness of her body that she didn’t understand the reason for what the nurse had just done, and it was making the woman anxious.

“Will you be honest with me—and the hospital staff—about your injuries?” asked Lilith, wishing she could reach out to her, but knowing that that might not be what Zelda wanted. “Does your back need immediate medical attention, or can a forensic exam be conducted first? The sooner it’s done, the less chance there is of losing or contaminating evidence.”

“I haven’t… looked… at my back,” Zelda said, haltingly, as she slowly took off her sunglasses. “Looking at it would make it...real.”

“Did Hilda…?” Lilith began, but stopped when Zelda shook her head.

“I only showed her… some of it,” said Zelda, losing steam as she raised her wrist as proof.

The elderly nurse shuffled around, closing the privacy curtain and taking out a blue hospital gown. “We’ll need to take those wrappings off, dear. For the physical exam, but also for the photos.”

Zelda looked to Lilith, almost as if asking for her permission, which struck Lilith as odd. The nurse seemed to think so too, so the elderly woman took it upon herself to reassure her, “You’re in control here, dear. We only have to do what _you_ want, not what the police want.” When Zelda nodded, and offered her wrist out, the nurse started to carefully unwrap the athletic tape as she said to Lilith, “No offense, Lieutenant.”

“None taken,” said Lilith. Moving closer to Zelda, she said, “We can prosecute him with photos of the injuries alone, if you permit them to be taken. I want to assure you that you don’t have to have a forensic exam if you don’t want to. By law, it is your right to refuse one. In fact, you don’t have to cooperate with police in any way; we’re here at the hospital because you need medical care, first and foremost. If you want me to leave, I’ll leave, and we don’t have to take this any further. But if you don’t have a rape kit done, and then later decide to prosecute, for your own sake and the sake of the children, I can’t guarantee we’ll be able to make the charges stick—”

“You can’t guarantee that regardless,” interrupted the nurse, her voice gruff but her fingers gentle as she finished unwrapping the tape. Zelda’s wrist was swollen and purple. Lilith flinched at the sight, despite having seen much worse over the years.

“She’s right,” said Zelda as the nurse took out the camera. “I’m sorry—what did you say your name was?”

“Dezmelda, dear,” said the nurse as she lifted the camera. “May I take a picture?”

“Yes,” Zelda said, looking to Lilith once more.

_Click._

Lilith watched as acceptance settled on Zelda’s features with the click of the camera lens.

“I’ll do it,” Zelda breathed. “I’ll do the… forensic exam.”

Lilith nodded, “Okay. Do you want me to leave while Dezmelda collects the samples?”

Zelda’s face twisted, as if uncertain what would be worse: being alone and having to suffer through the exam without support, or having Lilith stay and witness the extent of her humiliation.

“I’d like you… to stay,” said Zelda as Dezmelda took out an evidence bag and motioned for her to step onto the sheet that she had laid down.

“Okay,” Lilith said, taking the camera from Dezmelda so that the nurse could use both hands to hold the bag.

“Were you wearing these clothes when you were assaulted?” said Dezmelda, indicating that Zelda should put her accessories into the bag.

“No,” said Zelda, surrendering her sunglasses.

“Would you be able to obtain those clothes for evidence?” asked Lilith, her mind shifting into police business.

“No,” repeated Zelda, but quickly clarified: “I… I wasn’t wearing any…clothes. Not… not for a while, before he…”

Dezmelda nodded in understanding. “That’s alright, dear. There may still be evidence to be found on what you’re wearing now.”

Next came the scarf, but Zelda hesitated to take it off.

“It’s alright,” said Lilith, forcing her expression into something she hoped was encouraging. “You can take off the scarf. Dezmelda is bound by doctor-patient confidentiality to protect your privacy.”

“That’s not... why I don’t want to take off the scarf,” said Zelda, her voice much quieter than before. Slowly, Zelda uncovered her head, and then unwrapped the fabric from around her neck. Lilith tried to keep herself from reacting; she’d caught sight of the bruises around her neck out of the corner of her eye when they were in the car, but they looked much worse under the harsh yellow glow of the fluorescent lights. They were all in various stages of healing, which told Lilith that Blackwood must be a fan of erotic asphyxiation... or perhaps he just enjoyed strangling his wife, outside of pleasure purposes. Lilith felt a twinge in her chest at the thought.

The scarf was placed into the bag without further comment. The bag was sealed and set on the counter.

And so, the undressing continued. With each layer that was removed, there came a new array of marks. Many seemed to have been sustained in self-defense, like the marks on Zelda’s thighs, where the woman’s legs had clearly been pinned open either by Blackwood’s hands or knees.

Lilith felt she ought to go behind the screen, to give Zelda some privacy, but it appeared that her presence might actually be helping the woman soldier on. Lilith made quick work of the photos, not wanting Zelda to feel like her body was on display for any longer than necessary.

“Would you turn around for me, Zelda? I’d like to take a photo of your back.”

Zelda did as she was told, shivering a bit. Whether the trembling was from being mostly naked or from being photographed, Lilith couldn’t tell.

The Lieutenant, who had remained coolly professional up until this point, despite the disturbing marks on Zelda’s thighs, chest, and extremities, couldn’t help but take a sharp inhale of breath when her back was revealed.

Zelda’s back was completely covered with crisscrossing lines of broken skin. It appeared some sort of weapon—a whip or a flog—had been used to give her lashes from her shoulders down to her lower back and buttocks. The wounds were raised and swollen—which made Lilith worry that they were indeed infected. There was scar tissue, too, which told Lilith that this was not a new pattern of injuries; Zelda had had similar wounds before, which had healed only to be reopened again. The wounds weren’t necessarily life-threatening, but Lilith was grateful that she'd convinced Zelda that a trip to the hospital was absolutely necessary.

“Take the picture, Lieutenant,” prompted Dezmelda, when it became clear that Lilith was distracted from her job. Zelda continued to tremble, her arms wrapped protectively around her waist.

Feeling like a child being reprimanded—and rightfully so—Lilith lifted the camera.

 _Click._ _Click. Click._

When the photos were finished, Dezmelda said, “Lieutenant, would you turn off the lights, please?”

Lilith moved to do as she was told, though Zelda seemed uncomfortable with the idea of being in the dark. “Why…? What exactly are you going to do?”

Dezmelda lifted the UV light in her hand. “I’m going to check for samples. It will only take a moment.”

Zelda nodded, though she still looked unnerved as the lights went out and the UV light shone upon her. There were no obvious substances on Zelda’s body, which prompted Lilith to ask, “Have you showered recently?”

“Not exactly,” said Zelda, shifting uncomfortably on her feet as Dezmelda got closer to her with the light. “I used a wash cloth. I didn’t—I wasn’t trying to—I just wanted to feel a little bit cleaner.”

Lilith understood, though her heart sank upon hearing the words. “That’s alright.”

When Dezmelda was sure she hadn’t missed anything, Lilith turned the lights back on.

“Would you like to put on a gown so I can collect your undergarments?” said Dezmelda, handing Zelda the hospital gown before shooing Lilith away, beyond the curtain.

Lilith listened as the last bits of clothes were dropped into a bag, and then Zelda was ushered onto the exam table. Feeling suddenly uncomfortable—and wholly unnecessary—now that the pictures were finished, Lilith sat down heavily in a nearby chair. The adrenaline of the day was wearing off, leaving her to deal with nearly three nights’ worth of lack of sleep. Lilith listened as the sheet that had been on the floor, collecting whatever evidence might have fallen in the undressing process, was picked up and placed in its own evidence bag. She knew that the physical exam would be starting any moment, and wasn’t sure that she should be around when it did.

“Lilith?” came a shaky voice from behind the curtain.

“Yes?” said Lilith, standing up and placing the camera down.

“I…would you…?”

Lilith poked her head around the curtain, just as Dezmelda was picking up a swab.

“First we’re going to take samples from your mouth,” said Dezmelda as Lilith came to stand beside Zelda, who unexpectedly reached out to take her hand.

Once the oral swabs were done, Dezmelda scraped under Zelda’s nails. Trying to make Zelda feel more at ease, she said, “It’s a bit like having your nails done, isn’t it, dear?”

Zelda didn’t respond. Lilith closed her eyes. Some people coped with humor, but some did not. She imagined Zelda wasn’t in the mood for jokes.

Then, Dezmelda handed Zelda a comb. It was clear the woman didn’t know what it was for, and Lilith’s stomach twisted as Dezmelda explained that the next step was to comb through the pubic hair, looking for any DNA that might not be Zelda’s.

Zelda’s face flushed with embarrassment and discomfort. “Is that really necessary? My husband’s DNA will surely be all over my body.”

“If you’re not comfortable, of course, we can skip this step,” said Dezmelda, taking the comb back. Zelda seemed relieved, but only for a moment, because the next question was the most intrusive yet.

“Was there any anal contact or penetration?” said Dezmelda, her voice clinical, but her eyes expressing her sorrow at having to ask such a personal question.

Again, Zelda looked to Lilith, as if asking if this was truly a part of the exam, and if she had to answer. Lilith squeezed her hand in reassurance.

“Dezmelda doesn’t have to swab that area if there wasn’t any. Even if there was—you don’t have to agree to that part of the exam.”

“No,” said Zelda, but whether it was in answer to Dezmelda’s question, or to the swab itself, Lilith wasn’t sure.

The next step was the internal exam. Lilith was worried, as Zelda had already refused more than one step along the way, but this one was the most important if Lilith was going to have any chance at prosecuting Blackwood for rape. Zelda understood—she had known all along that that would be a part of the exam—but the color was very quickly draining from her face.

“Are you sure you want me here for this?” said Lilith as Dezmelda prepared to do the vaginal swabs. “I can go—”

“No,” said Zelda, squeezing Lilith’s hand until she started to lose feeling in her fingers. Hiding her face in her elbow, Zelda continued, “I don’t want... Just tell me when it’s over.”

* * *

When the rape kit was finished—the evidence sealed and taken away by Dezmelda—and all of her injuries had been tended to, Zelda was left sitting in a hospital gown, thoroughly bandaged, and clearly distraught. Lilith had since stopped holding Zelda’s hand, and taken a seat beside the exam table. The silence was thick and heavy between them.

“I know how difficult that must have been for you—” Lilith started, but she was quickly interrupted.

“Do you?” said Zelda, her eyes unfocused. “When you were with your… _criminal,_ did you have to go through what I just did to prove he was a bad man?”

Lilith knew Zelda was in a fragile state, but the words hurt, even if the implication was true. “No, no I didn’t.”

“Then, please, save your platitudes for someone else,” said Zelda, turning to look her in the eye. “If it weren’t for the children, I would never have agreed to such a thing. Their safety is more important than my comfort.”

Lilith let those words wash over her. “You’re a good mother, Zelda Spellman, but it’s okay to want justice for yourself as well. Not everything has to be done for the sake of others.”

Noticing the wet sheen which had begun to coat Zelda’s eyes, Lilith got up to retrieve a tissue from the counter. She handed it to Zelda, who accepted it wordlessly, before Dezmelda returned with several prescriptions and a bag of hospital-issue clothing.

“Here you are, dear. I’m sorry we don’t have any clothes more suitable for a woman of your status,” said Dezmelda, which was the first acknowledgment that the elderly woman had made of Zelda’s true identity.

Zelda accepted the scrubs with shaking hands. “These will do just fine. Thank you, Dezmelda.”

The old woman smiled, nodding her head. She took Zelda’s uninjured hand in her own. “I’m sorry we had to meet under these circumstances, dear. You look after yourself, you hear? I don’t ever want to see you in my emergency room again.”

Then, Dezmelda turned to Lilith, handing her the scripts with a bit too much force, so that Zelda wouldn't have to hold them while she got dressed. “You see to it you get the bastard, Lieutenant. Tell the ADA she’ll have a very old, very angry medical professional knocking on her door if she drops the ball on this one.”

“Understood,” Lilith said, a bit baffled by the woman’s bluntness. She’d seen Dezmelda perform hundreds of rape kits, and never had the woman been so invested in the prosecution of whoever had landed the victim on her exam table.

With that, Dezmelda nodded to both of them and left.

Zelda held up the scrubs, which had a repeating pattern of a black cat playing with a ball of yarn. “Not quite my style, are they?”

“At least she gave you pediatric ones. The surgical scrubs are much less…fun,” said Lilith, eyeing them with a crooked smile. She was glad that Zelda was showing some sign of levity.

“I think a solid color would have been more appropriate for a grown woman,” argued Zelda as she untied her hospital gown. Lilith immediately flinched away, not having expected Zelda to undress so quickly, and wanting to offer her some privacy by turning her back.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Lilith closed her eyes, feeling slightly dizzy at the thought that Zelda was worried about _her_ comfort. “I just didn’t want you to feel like I’m… I don’t know.”

“You’ve photographed me in my lingerie. At the risk of sounding presumptuous, I think we’re far passed the point of modesty for modesty’s sake.”

Lilith felt her cheeks heat up with entirely unprofessional embarrassment. This woman would be the death of not only her, but possibly her career, too, if Lilith couldn’t get a hold of herself.

“You can turn around now.”

Lilith did. The sight was far cuter than it had any right to be. Zelda now sported the scrubs, which were slightly too big on her. Lilith tried not to appear as if she were staring. The scrubs failed to hide the bruises around her neck, nor were they long enough to cover the air cast on her wrist.

Zelda raised a self-conscious hand to hide her neck from view. “You wouldn’t happen to have anything that could cover this, would you?”

Lilith wracked her mind, trying to think if she had anything resembling a scarf in her squad car, but she did not. Deciding it was better than nothing, Lilith began to take off her leather jacket.

“What... what are you doing?” asked Zelda, holding up her hands, as if to stop Lilith from undressing any further.

“Here,” said Lilith, walking towards Zelda, who remained frozen in place as Lilith wrapped the jacket carefully around her shoulders, and encouraged Zelda to put her arms through it. The woman was so shocked, Lilith had to maneuver her like a doll into the garment. The intimacy of the gesture wasn’t lost on either of them as Lilith zipped the jacket up to Zelda’s neck.

“That should hide most of it,” said Lilith, arranging Zelda’s red hair to hide what the jacket didn’t cover. She was surprised that Zelda let her do it, since Lilith herself would never let a stranger touch her hair in this way, but Zelda seemed oddly soothed by the gesture.

“Thank you,” said Zelda, grabbing Lilith’s hand as it retreated from her red curls. “Not just for the jacket—I mean… for everything.”

Lilith’s heart swelled at the sincerity in Zelda’s voice. “Just doing my job.”

But as they exited the hospital, Lilith realized that this wasn’t the truth. Sometime between the early hours of the morning, and now, everything had shifted. She wanted to protect Zelda Spellman more fiercely than she had ever wanted to protect someone before.

 _Oh no_ , Lilith thought as she chivalrously opened Zelda’s car door for her. She was smitten—and “smitten” meant that she needed to recuse herself from the case immediately.

But as Zelda flashed her a grateful smile and tucked herself gingerly into the vehicle, Lilith knew that she wouldn’t—no, couldn’t—walk away from this case now.


	7. Making a Statement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda makes her statement to the police. Lilith learns a great deal more about her companion than she'd expect.

Zelda pulled at the neck of the borrowed leather jacket in discomfort before she said, “What happens now?”

“Now,” said Lilith, turning on the engine and shifting gears, “we go back to SVU and you file a complete police report.”

Zelda stared unseeingly out the window, her expression far away. “And then what happens? Do I just… walk back into my home again? Like nothing ever happened?”

“No,” Lilith insisted, honking her horn as a taxi cab cut her off. Zelda nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden noise. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine—it’s just—I’m easily startled.”

Lilith nodded to herself, knowing from experience how hyper-aware a body can become after years of abuse. “To answer your question, once you’re finished with the report, and Dezmelda gets back to me with the results of the forensic exam, I can use the photos combined with the medical report to get a judge to issue a warrant for your husband’s arrest.”

Zelda’s eyes went wide as she turned to Lilith. “Are you sure that will be enough? Doesn’t he have some sort of diplomatic immunity?”

“Her Majesty the Queen,” said Lilith with a mocking tone, “might have blanket immunity, but her sons do not. I can arrest him so long as he isn’t in the Queen’s presence, or at Buckingham palace.”

“How do you know so much about diplomatic law?” asked Zelda as they pulled into the police garage. “Surely, the NYPD doesn’t make you memorize such things to pass your exams?”

Turning off the engine, Lilith shot Zelda a playful smile and shrugged. “You’re right, they don’t.”

Their conversation was momentarily paused as Lilith got out of the car and went around to the other side to open Zelda’s door for her.

“Then how—?”

“I googled it this morning,” said Lilith with a smirk as she offered Zelda her hand.

* * *

By the time that they were seated in Lilith’s office, and young Mr. Scratch had offered Zelda a cup of lukewarm tea, all humor had drained out of the situation.

“Are you ready to make your statement?” asked Lilith as Zelda took a careful sip of her drink. She made a face, crinkling her nose.

“Do you people actually drink this?” said Zelda, placing the tea on Lilith’s desk with a look of disdain.

“'Us people' function mostly on rocket fuel,” said Lilith, but clarified when it was clear Zelda didn’t understand, “— _coffee_ , that is. We don’t have sophisticated, aristocratic pallets like yours.”

“I’m hardly aristocratic,” said Zelda, waving her hand dismissively in a way that reeked of good breeding.

“My apologies,” said Lilith, trying to keep from smiling at the irony. Serious business was at hand, and she couldn’t afford to ignore it any longer. Lifting her pen and taking out a blank report, Lilith continued, “Now, I want you to tell me in your own words what happened last night. Spare no detail. I promise, there’s nothing you could say that I haven’t heard before.”

Zelda avoided making eye contact. “I’ve already said what happened—in the library.”

Lilith recalled Zelda’s blunt words earlier, about having been given thirty lashes and… Lilith quickly pushed the image out of her mind. “I know. But you have to go through it one more time. And, if this goes to trial, you’ll need to tell the story to a room full of people who will all be looking to pick it apart, so it’s important that you tell me everything—even things that might not seem relevant.”

Zelda’s face was shockingly white against her red curls. “I don’t know where to start.”

Lilith nodded. “Let’s start with something simpler. How long have you been with Faustus Blackwood? You're his second wife, correct?”

“I hardly call that ‘simpler,’” scoffed Zelda without an ounce of humor. “We were children together. My mother worked as the Queen’s midwife, nurse, and nanny. She practically raised Faustus and his older brother.”

Lilith tried to keep the surprise from showing on her face. “So… you lived in the palace?”

“Not exactly,” said Zelda, picking up her tea again, apparently resigned to drinking it. “It’s hard to explain—and I suppose it's irrelevant to the matter at hand. What I meant to say is that Faustus and I have always been… close. We were only sixteen when we became intimate with one another.”

Lilith tried not to look too shocked by that admission. “You were intimate as teenagers? Hilda told me that you two have a long history, but she didn’t specify what that meant.”

“Exactly how much _did_ Hilda tell you about my private life?” said Zelda, frowning at Lilith over her tea.

“Not much at all,” Lilith said, not wanting Zelda to feel like she’d been prying earlier. “So, what happened? How did Blackwood wind up married to someone else?”

Zelda’s laugh was cold and hollow. “The Crown didn’t approve. Being the Prince’s… playfellow… was one thing. Being his wife and bearing his children was another. My family’s lack of a title made the match impossible in the eyes of the royal family.”

Lilith nodded. “So, Blackwood married Constance because she was more ‘suitable?’”

“More or less. She was also younger and more likely to bear him a brood of children,” said Zelda, coughing slightly as another sip of tea went down the wrong pipe. She hastily put the cup down on Lilith’s desk, holding a hand out when Lilith seemed ready to perform some sort of unnecessary maneuver to help her.

“Her death was shocking,” said Lilith as she sat back down. “I remember reading about it in the newspaper. She was so young.”

Zelda let out a few more coughs before recovering her voice. “Yes, it was a tragedy. Having twins can make for a difficult pregnancy. I was there when she died; it was just awful.”

“You were _there_?” asked Lilith in disbelief. “Why?”

“I was a midwife to the royal family, like my mother before me,” Zelda said, her eyes sad. “I’d never lost a patient before her. I thought the Crown would have me arrested—or even killed—for my failure.”

Lilith scratched her head, not knowing what to make of this new information. “I thought you went to Oxford to study theology? Are you telling me you were there as a medical student?”

“Is it so hard to believe that I would be passionate about medicine _and_ religion?” said Zelda, lifting an eyebrow.

“No,” Lilith said quickly, not wanting to offend her. She jotted a few things in her notebook before turning back to the report, which really ought to be filled out as quickly as possible. “So, you grew closer to Blackwood during the late Lady Blackwood’s pregnancy?”

“Yes.”

“And you became intimate again after her death?” said Lilith, looking up from her notes when Zelda took far too long to answer. “I’m sorry, is something wrong?”

Zelda’s cheeks had flushed with heat. “I… well. I’d prefer this not to be made public… but we were having an affair long before Constance’s death.”

“That’s alright. No judgment here,” said Lilith, raising her hands to indicate she was telling the truth. “But I’m glad you told me, because that is exactly the sort of thing that the Defense Attorney would try to use against you.”

“Against me?” Zelda repeated, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

“It’s likely they will try to discredit you in whatever way they can. It can be brutal,” admitted Lilith, before carrying on. “But we have a great deal of evidence on our side, and we shouldn’t worry about the trial now.”

Zelda pulled at the neck of Lilith’s leather jacket, which made Lilith worry that it might be too tight against her bruises.

“Are you alright? You can take that off. The blinds are drawn—no one else can see you.”

Slowly, Zelda lifted her right hand to the zipper. Lilith expected Zelda to take the jacket off completely, but instead she just left it open, rubbing the skin of her neck in discomfort. It made for an interesting picture—the pediatric scrubs combined with Lilith’s red leather jacket.

“Now, I know this might be difficult for you, but I think it’s time we turn to the reason why you’re here,” said Lilith, putting her pen to the report. “When did the abuse start? Has your relationship always been defined by this level of violence?”

Zelda shook her head. “No, no. Not at all. We used to be well-suited to each other. We had the same... proclivities. I’ve never liked the term ‘sadomasochism,’ but I suppose you could call it that. I've never known another man who makes me feel the way he does... _did_. I… we… for a time, we were both on the same page when it came to violence in the bedroom ”

Lilith nodded. As an SVU detective, she was far more familiar with bondage, discipline, submission, and dominance than the average person. So long as everything was consensual, she believed that what two adults did in the privacy of their bedroom was entirely their own business.

“When did you stop being on the same page?” pressed Lilith.

Zelda let out a shaky breath. She gripped the lapel of Lilith’s jacket with her good hand, almost as if she needed to ground herself. “During our honeymoon.”

“What changed?” asked Lilith, her voice as gentle as she could make it.

“I have no idea. Truly,” Zelda said, her voice cracking on the last word as she shuddered. “I thought I understood Faustus. I was certain we were a good match—much better than he and Constance had been for one another. I don’t know what changed. I would never have agreed to marry him if I knew—”

Zelda’s voice cut off abruptly as she put her face in her hands. Lilith immediately got up from her chair and knelt beside her.

“Listen to me,” said Lilith as she placed a careful hand on Zelda’s knee, “it isn’t your fault that you trusted him. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Blackwood had no right to do what he did.”

Zelda lifted her head, wiping at her eyes with the sleeve of Lilith’s jacket. “That’s just it... some of it, I don't mind. Some of it we’ve always done. It’s just—he pushes it so much _further_ now, and when I ask him to stop, he… he acts like he doesn’t hear me. He insists I don't really mean 'no'—that I'm just pretending not to want it. Like it's all a part of a game."

Lilith felt a heady wave of anger rush through her as she grabbed a tissue off of her desk and handed it to Zelda. “You have a right to say ‘no’ at any time. If he doesn’t listen, it’s rape. It doesn’t matter if you used to do these things consensually. It stopped being consensual the moment you told him to stop, and he refused.”

“I know that,” said Zelda, her voice thick with emotion. “It’s just so much more _complicated_ than that. I’m used to it all by now, and I have the children to think about.”

Lilith nodded, understanding completely. “You don’t have to sacrifice yourself for them. You came to SVU for a reason. Somewhere deep inside, you knew that you couldn’t go on like this, and I’m so proud that you took that first step. The first step is always the hardest.”

“I came,” Zelda sucked in a huge breath of air, her body shuddering as she blew it out again, “because of something he said.”

Lilith felt time come crashing to a halt as Zelda’s green eyes connected with her own. “What did he say?”

Zelda bit her bottom lip hard enough to leave it red and swollen. “He said: ‘You’re boring me, Zelda, and you know what I do when I get bored—I move on to someone younger and more obedient.’”

Lilith felt a bit dizzy, realizing that her ex-lover had said something terrifyingly similar to her—almost word for word. He didn’t like it when she stood up for herself. Either she would have to pretend to be a more active participant in the games that Lucifer played, or else she would be punished for lacking enthusiasm… and his punishments were not easy to forget.

Suddenly, Lilith felt a soft hand cover her own where it sat Zelda’s knee.

“Are you alright?”

Scrambling to her feet, Lilith tried to hide how much Zelda’s words had disturbed her. “Yes, of course. I just realized I need to get a warrant for his arrest signed even faster than I thought.”

“I don’t understand. What did I say wrong?” said Zelda, suspicion and fear in her every muscle.

“Nothing,” Lilith said as she wrote down Zelda’s statement as fast as she could, not wanting to make eye contact. “Do you know who Faustus’ next target would be now that you’re gone, or was it an empty threat?”

Lilith could hear apprehension in Zelda’s voice as she eventually said, “I worry about Prudence. I don’t think he’d _assault_ her—she’s his blood—but I can’t say that I haven’t wondered if he would turn his anger on her if I were to leave.”

Lilith looked up at that. While she’d told her detectives to have Hilda pick up the twins immediately, she’d failed to mention anything about Prudence in her haste to get Zelda to the hospital.

Bringing a hand up to cover her mouth, Zelda said, “Oh, sweet Hecate, what have I done?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think of this chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: While it seems a bit silly to credit Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa as the owner of these characters, considering he himself stole/borrowed/recreated them, let's give it a go.
> 
> I do not own these characters. They belong to Archie Comics, which sent Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa himself a cease and desist for his blatant fanfic-turned-play, "Archie's Weird Fantasy," not too long ago. Please do not sue me; I am an unemployed adjunct professor writing fanfiction purely for entertainment purposes. I have very little money, but a whole lot of love for complicated female characters. While I do not wish to be sued, I would very much enjoy being given a position as show-runner for writing some great fanfic. I eagerly await your email.


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